1. Field
The present invention generally relates to medical devices and procedures, particularly devices and methods for delivery and placement of the medical devices into a patient's body for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse.
2. Description of the Related Art
Genital prolapse or pelvic organ prolapse is a common health issue that affects the quality of life of an individual. The repair of these pelvic organ defects is challenging and requires preoperative evaluation, knowledge of anatomy and surgical techniques. Some cases of pelvic organ prolapse may be a result of damages to the vaginal and pelvic support tissues due to childbirth or chronically elevated intra-abdominal pressure. Patients may notice a mass or protrusion from the vagina followed by pelvic pressure and backache. Some patients may also have one or more symptoms of urinary incontinence, urinary retention, sexual dysfunction, and difficulty with bowel movements.
Treatment of different types of pelvic organ prolapse may require surgery in order to provide support to the prolapsed organ via slings, mesh-based devices, and other kinds of implants. With advancements in medical technology, a variety of such devices are being considered for implantation into the patient's body for surgery. Also, various techniques of and procedures for delivering and placing these implants into the patient's body have evolved in the last few decades to treat pelvic organ prolapse.
Various shapes of the implants are available to meet the requirements of surgery as decided/preferred by a doctor/operator. Some implants used to treat prolapse and other pelvic organ disorders have a Y-shaped configuration. Such implants may include two arms that are placed from the anterior and posterior sides of the vagina to one of the bones at the back of the pelvis such as the sacrum.
The existing Y-shaped implants can be used to support the anterior and posterior vaginal walls with a uniform tension upon placement within the bodily tissues. In such implants, the tension in one arm is dependent on the other arm; therefore, providing specific tensions to the two arms separately is difficult. However, as per the surgical requirements, various doctors/operators may prefer a particular approach to repair the pelvic damage. Some would opt to secure the implant with different and specific tensions at posterior and anterior walls, whereas others would prefer to secure the implant with uniform tension at the anterior and posterior walls. These implants, however, are not capable of being converted or customized for both types of surgical requirements decided by the doctor or the operator.
Thus, there is a need for a single medical device or an implant that may be customized as per the surgical requirements.